20 September 2017

Scattershots – 20sep17 (updated 22sep17)

What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. - Christopher Hitchens

George Rebane

Cindy Hren, local student and purveyor of things constitutional, published a refresher on the form of our government in the 17feb17 Union (here and here). Then as if by clockwork, several embarrassingly (but not to them) ignorant progressives lit off against Ms Hren, displaying their intellect in all available glory. Today she answers her critics (here) and attempts to shed some light into the dark corners of their minds.

RR has extensively documented the decline of the Millennials and now the iGeners in the paucity of their knowledge bases and their ability to manage critical thought. The Left has, of course, abetted their own ignorance of these multi-decadal developments by accusing any messenger of such news as sufferers of bigotry, racism, xx-phobias, up to and including the heartbreak of psoriasis. Today we receive further and ongoing confirmation of these generational deficits from none other than the left-leaning policy analysis Brookings Institution. They have completed and published a “survey showing that American college students have no clue what the First Amendment means.” Brookings’ author of the survey, Dr John Villasenor, concludes, “Freedom of expression is deeply imperiled on US campuses.” (more here)

‘Trump Shock at Turtle Bay’, so heralds the 20sep17 WSJ the president’s UN speech. In reading our president’s words, I find myself among the celebrants of someone finally cutting the bullshit in that longstanding and ineffective international body where the same has reigned supreme for generations. The speech also highlights the legions of media outlets in the extremis of Trump Derangement Syndrome that have quoted out of context parts of his speech – ‘Trump vows we have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea’ - and are enraged at the president’s view that a prudent nations-serving globalism is possible while still maintaining the Westphalian world order. Thus continue to flare the fanned fires of fake news.

[22sep17 update] Do nothing Republicans beware!

Occam’s Razor restated by the late “slashing polemicist” Christopher Hitchens reads, “What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.” I have always agreed with Hitchens’ principle here, although it is not always easy to apply in the public forum, especially in today’s era of the uncritical consumption of fake news. Occam’s original version has long served as one of the stout legs on which science has made great strides - ‘Given two theories which explain all the known facts, embrace the simpler of the two.’ Falsification, the other leg, is even more persuasive, ‘If a proposed theory does not contain the clear elements that enable its own falsification, then it is religion and not science.’

HuffPost, the unabashedly elitist leftwing outlet, has been losing readers in droves and is desperately attempting to rebrand itself. It can’t be that the younger set is getting smarter, as we have presented here, there is too much evidence countering that. It must be the older leftwingers getting smarter as they age, and have now the perspective of deciding what works and what doesn’t. Well, at least HuffPost’s new management is admitting what most critical thinkers have known for years. (more here)

‘Right to Work Isn’t Theft’ - Union hubris has hit new heights recently with their suits against ‘right to work’ states arguing that the government is violating the Constitution’s takings clause. How’s that?! Well, the buggers have taken it for granted that the money in workers’ pockets that could go for union dues is actually already theirs, and laws that let workers decide how they want to spend their earnings are, in effect, taking what innately does and should belong to unions. That position is so ludicrous that state supreme courts have thrown out the suits with rulings that such arguments are “fatally unsupported and lacking in merit”, dunning the lower courts’ rulings as “not merely imprudent, but profoundly legally incorrect.”

The Left’s panic over Graham-Cassidy’s latest GOP attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare is producing fake news bereft of facts by the ton. Relate what’s happening here to the above comments about HuffPost and Occam’s Razor restated. (more here)

Comments

I missed Trump's UN speech, but was listening to the radio when the 5 minute news on the hour came up. Trump sounded absolutely on target on the short clip. Then, ABC radio got two statements from the opposition, one was El Presidente from Venezuela and the other some ayatollah of rock-n-rolla UN rep voicing his displeasure. The Venezuelan chieftain said Trump was talking about him like he was the hired help, ROFLMAO. Wonder how the metro-sexual Chubby Kim likes his own words being thrown right back at him. Choke on this, little saber rattling man-child. Shoe is on the other foot now, eh Kim Three Chin?

Judging by the general stunned silence from the Leftaninstas hours later, I figure that President Trump's speech knocked the wind out of their sails. Might take them another day to regain their footing and rewrite the narrative so we know what Trump really said.

Dr. Rebane wrote:
"The speech also highlights the legions of media outlets in the extremis of Trump Derangement Syndrome that have quoted out of context parts of his speech – ‘Trump vows we have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea’ - and are enraged at the president’s view........."

Examples? Glad you asked.

“The words ‘totally destroying’ a nation of 25 million people, that borders on the threat of committing a war crime.” —ABC’s Terry Moran (“So do little Kim Jong’s threats to NUKE America count as a war crime too?” —Katie Pavlich)

" I thought [Trump’s UN speech] was very dark [and] dangerous, not the kind of message that the leader of the greatest nation in the world should be delivering.” —Hillary Clinton (You know what else is dark and dangerous? Hillary’s Benghazi coverup.)

As covered here before: the decline of the Millennials and now the iGeners

"In the mid-20th century, she said, people adopted what evolutionary psychologists call a "fast-life strategy." Life spans were shorter and work was more imperative, so kids grew up relatively quickly without as much parental supervision. By 2000, though, the US had taken up a "slow-life strategy" — people were living longer, resources were more abundant, and parents started raising their kids to stay kids longer.

Because there seems to be less of a need for modern teens to become adults, Twenge and Park's research suggests that today's 18-year-old more closely resembles a 15-year-old of the 1970s or '80s."

Haven't heard a President since Reagan make such a common sense speech. Anyone whose raised a family knows how important responsibility is. There are many Nations (families) responsible for themselves and to be good neighbors. It was kind of interesting watching the facial expressions of those who were present during his speech. Some resembled teenagers who don't like personal responsibility and don't want to listen.

GeorgeB 139pm - Do you recall the lamestream media and their 'entertainment' colleagues going into such hissy-fits in the preludes to the GOP's previous unsuccessfuol efforts at repeal and replace? Me neither.

BTW, it appears that comedy today may have already disappeared. The sage words from Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, and Gene Wilder warned us that the kind of comedy that made them famous is no longer possible, since almost all of it was based on highlighting some gentle hyperbole about well-known cultural, ethnic, economic, and poorly educated stereotypes. That today is a no-no, so 'comedy' is now reduced to political rants and ad hominems against individuals that draw either approving jeers or nervous laughter from audiences.

I would like to know just why McCain is even allowed to vote with that mental defect.
If any one of us had a brain tumor like his,, we would have our driving privileges revoked, and our guns taken away. Yet he is still allowed to make life altering votes for millions.

Jerry Seinfeld and some other comedians have said they won't do their shows on college campii as the students don't know what comedy is and will attack them. Funny how democrats and liberals like GB never seem to be as outraged at the dictatorship here in their own state. Why is that I wonder?

As a regular reader of my column in The Union, Todd should recall that I have criticized UC and other universities for stifling free speech, being politically correct, and generally making life difficult for conservatives.

Heck, I even wrote a column defending conservative anti-abortion advocates because they were singled out for prosecution by the California attorney general.

Hey, if I recall correctly Jerry Brown and his goofballs of renown under the dome are showing their hypocrisy again. They all want a "sanctuary state" so they can let illegal immigrant felons ravish us with their pistols and machetes and tell the Feds to go away. Aren't these the same people that passed a Resolution against Arizona a few years ago when that state wanted to enforce the Federal immigration laws? And the California goofers were all about the Feds being in control? And Jerry boycotted Arizona. So once again we have situational ethics by the kids under the dome which says to me they are truly the kind of politicians we must remove. We need people that actually follow the law and are not so transparently hypocritical. What say you all?

I do find it more than hypocritical that the likes of LIB calif. piss and moan, demand that Confederate monuments MUST come down because "The South were traitors!" Yet the likes of Ca. are doing the same thing today by defying FED laws. Right down to voting to secede from the Union. Ca. fights to keep illegals and fights to stop the boarder security.
I won't even get started on the other things the state of Ca. defies the nation on.
Ca. is pretty much a "NeoConfederate" state.

As to George's highlighting the unions' hissy fit over folks having (gasp) the right to freely associate or not - the unions love to point out that they are often bound by law to provide the negotiations for wages and benefits for their members and non-members alike and should be compensated by all of the affected workers. What they always fail to admit is that they wanted those laws.
Just allow companies to pay whatever they want to with non-union members and pay the union employees according to negotiated contracts with the unions - if the companies want to. If a company doesn't like the union demands then get rid of the union workers and just hire non union workers. Free market. If you don't like it move to a state that has a strong union presence. But we all know the 'right to choose' is just a pile of left-wing BS from left-wing BSers.
My personal experience and that of my friends with the unions is almost always negative.
Question to anyone willing to think - if unions are so great, why do the unions always push for laws forcing folks to join?

Not the AP! Boardman's fav center-of-the-road left-wing news org.
Why - they wouldn't mislead now, would they?
In other news.
I really wish that Trump would just announce that since the Dems are in such a state about getting rid of Obama care, he's going to just let it continue and show the American public how bad it is. Obama care? To paraphrase Jolson - you ain't seen nothin' yet!

But, it's money the unions would have received if those darn Right To Work States where told they cannot be Right to Work States.!
The unions argued their position not on constitutional grounds, but because of fairness, ROFLMAO. Fairness to whom?

"The plaintiffs are asking the court to weigh in on the bill's fairness, rather than its strict constitutionality, according to Ketchum.

"We find that the unions failed to show a likelihood of success in their legal challenge to the law’s constitutionality," the ruling says. "The wisdom, desirability, and fairness of a law are political questions to be resolved in the legislature. Those decisions may only be challenged in the court of public opinion and the ballot box, not before the judiciary."

50th or 60th? What are you saying? He can't tell the difference? This was the fellow that thought there were 57 states. Yes - we are losers. Obamacare made damn near all of us losers. Gee BooBoo, where's my 2500 dollars? Remember that lie? Paul does. He remembers all the lies all the presidents make. Sorta. Once in a while. Well, when he FEELS like it.

FEEL like it, or more precisely, when it is convenient. Those inconvenient truths he pays no never mind to. Ok, when he feels like it is the same thing.

In other insignificant news, another problem solved. Hey, aren't we suppose to cuddle these guys and worship the very ground they walk on? That Trump does everything wrong. Somebody better explain to him the rules. He done broke some rules.

The left was nnever panacked about the latest attempt to repeal Obamacare George. The insiders knew it was DOA. They are giggling in their glee over the nomination of Judge Moore. This guys a real nut case and far to the right of anyone on this blog. Here's some details about his beliefs.

Moore claimed that President Barack Obama wasn't a U.S. citizen.

Moore believes Muslims should be barred from serving in elected office.

In 2006, Moore wrote an op-ed calling on Congress to refuse to seat Keith Ellison because Ellison is Muslim.

Moore was thrown off the Alabama Supreme Court twice for violating the constitution in order to discriminate. The first time was for attempting to enforce
Christian worship in government spaces. The second time was for flouting Supreme Court's marriage equality ruling in order to discriminate against LGBTQ people.

Moore believes "homosexual acts" should be illegal and LGBTQ people thrown in prison.